THE JOURNAL

“We realised that travelling together was something we wanted to do for the rest of our lives.”

By Sarah-Louise Marks and Christopher Phelps of THE ADVENTURES OF US

Travelling the world is our shared passion, immersing ourselves in new cultures, finding unique hidden gems, sharing priceless experiences together and enriching our lives. By way of introduction, we are Christopher and Sarah-Louise of The Adventures of Us, a creative journal and personal travel guide.

Over the next few months, we’ll be taking you on an adventure to some of the world’s most iconic and breathtaking destinations, as well as giving you an insight into our life behind the lens. But first, here is a little about how our journey began.

How did The Adventures of Us begin?

The Adventures of Us was something of an artistic accident. Our shared passion for travel, culture, food, art, fashion and architecture inspired us to seek out unforgettable experiences and escape to beautiful destinations whenever we had the chance. Our foray into photography was spurred by a keen interest in storytelling and that drove us to start an online journal, a digital scrapbook if you will, which documented our own experiences and memories. We fell in love with the idea that everyone has the ability to see the world with a unique perspective, to capture a fading moment in a photograph that lasts forever — we often find ourselves drawn to capturing fleeting details that often go unseen and finding beauty in the unexpected.

How do you go about planning your adventures?

We have always believed travelling to new and exciting destinations is an essential part of self-care and growth. We live busy lives in bustling London, so allowing windows of time to escape and experience new cultures and a change of scenery is our way to revitalise the soul and keep us inspired.

Every time we sit down to plan a new trip, the logistics form the blueprint. We then seek out iconic hotels, beautiful views, architecture, restaurants and experiences that are refined to our own personal taste — these help create the aesthetic context of our story. Our creative pursuits make up who we are and how we see the world.

What are your dream destinations?

When it comes to our bucket list, there’s no shortage of destinations. India—we’ve yet to visit, but would love to be immersed in the sights and sounds of such a vibrant culture. We’d also love to visit Japan, South America, Iceland, and see more of Europe and the USA. Our dream is to visit every continent and explore the road less travelled. We live in such a beautifully diverse world and there are so many hidden landscapes and incredible cultures still left to discover.

What makes a hotel stand out to you?

We always notice when hosts look after us and make us feel at home, it can really shape your experience. Attention to detail is also key — from beautiful architectural and interior details, to the ambience and even staff remembering your name, it makes all the difference.

Our dream is to visit every continent and explore the road less travelled

What was your greatest adventure?

That’s a tough one, we fall in love with everywhere we go and get nostalgia for the places we leave behind. Our biggest adventure was probably road tripping across the USA. We visited the Johnny Cash museum in Nashville, listened to live Jazz in New Orleans, ate the best barbeque food in Memphis, explored the vintage shops in Austin, watched the sunrise in Monument Valley, relaxed in luxury at Amangiri, had one wild night in Las Vegas, fell in love with LA all over again and got lost in Yosemite.

What’s on your travel playlist?

Music plays an enormous role when we travel. Our playlists are curated for each destination, but usually always contains something that is emotive and sounds good at 35,000ft.

Where is the best hotel you have ever stayed at?

That’s a tough one for us to agree on, but most probably Amangiri in the Utah desert.

Where are you heading to next?

You’ll just have to wait and see!

Stay tuned for our first adventure… something a little closer to home.